


The Dust Settles Where Wars Have Been Waged

by Cynicwithatwist



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Feels, Final Battle, Gen, Plot Twists
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-29
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-11 20:14:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4450679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cynicwithatwist/pseuds/Cynicwithatwist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All of this could have been avoided.  They just had to work together, to find a way to coexist and let the bloody water that had severed them run under the bridge.  Yet, he had refused.  He could not accept her help.</p><p>Soo-Won, Yona thought, is this really what you wanted?  All this death will forever be dripping from your hands.  Tainting Kouka.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Dust Settles Where Wars Have Been Waged

Yona stared across the vast waste of carnage.  An overwhelmingly metallic scent smothered the land before her, clawing at her nose and scraping down her throat.  The emerald fields were drenched in scarlet, almost as if a painter had decided to go back and change his entire color scheme, to remove all the green from the palette.  People dressed in armor lay on the ground, never to move again.

All of this could have been avoided.  They just had to work together, to find a way to coexist and let the bloody water that had severed them run under the bridge.  Yet, he had refused.  He could not accept her help.

_Soo-Won, is this really what you wanted?  All this death will forever be dripping from your hands.  Tainting Kouka._

Yona heard someone approach and she lifted her sword, blocking an attack.  The weight of the blow sent her skidding back, and she raised her head to a familiar face.  Joo-Doh.

“Are you ok with this?” she demanded as their blades separated, only to collide into each other seconds later.  “You’ve always been an honorable man; certainly you must realize this isn’t right.”

His eyes locked with hers, and Yona was sure she saw a spark of grief flicker across their brown depths.

“I chose to stand by Lord Soo-Won.  Backing out now would cause the country to fall into chaos.  This is something that must be done.”

His statement tasted acerbic on her tongue, and with a heavy heart Yona acknowledged what she had to do.  She never wanted to indiscriminately kill, yet on a battle field such sentiments had to be left behind.  She could not convince every single soldier to join her side.  It was a futile fight, and she had friends to protect.

“I’m sorry” she whispered, trying to steel her heart.  Trying to not feel anything.  The tears still managed to slip out.

“I’m sorry as well, princess,” Joo-Doh said.  He moved his sword ever so slightly, in a way that would have been a novice’s error.  His chest was no longer as guarded as it should have been. It was a painful opening, one of his own making. 

_You must, you must, you must._

Yona plunged the blade into his heart.  There was a sharp intake of breath, and then he crumpled to the ground.  She removed the sword, wiping it on the long strands of grass, refusing to look at him.  Ignoring the agony that welled up inside of her being. 

_He did that on purpose, but it doesn’t make things any easier._

She heard a grunt from nearby, one she recognized as belonging to Hak.

_Right, there is no time for mourning now.  But later, I will tell everyone you were a virtuous man in both life and death._

She started towards Hak, dodging a few of Jae-Ha’s blades that pinned a soldier to the floor.  The man was struggling, screaming in such complete and utter fear Yona knew she could not just leave him there.  Even if he was an enemy, he was a person first and foremost.  She turned; ready to free him when Shin-Ah appeared.  He drew his sword and the man’s screaming turned into sobbed begging. 

_This is wrong.  I can’t just let him-_

A hand covered her eyes.

“You shouldn’t watch that,” Jae-aha murmured in her ear.  His tone was laced with sorrow, and she knew he liked the situation no more than she.  “It’s not fair, war never is.  You can’t give your heart to all of them; you’ll only end up in the most pain.”

And like a comforting summer breeze, there one second and gone the next, the hand disappeared, Jae-Ha along with it.  Shin-Ah had also moved on to the next solider, having no more need to fight someone who was dead.

Yona took in a breath, steadying herself, and raced to Hak.  She found him in the midst of repelling a bout of soldiers.  She could see more coming, trying to completely encircle the man.  Yona could only imagine what was going through their heads.  They probably thought they would gain great recognition for killing the famed Thunder Beast.

That might have been true, but it made Yona’s stomach curl in disgust.

She moved to stand with him then, back to back, sword held at the ready.

“I can fight my own battles, princess” he said, turning that fierce rain colored gaze on her.  However, the hellish look in his eyes didn’t completely hide just how exhausted he was.  Yona could see the way his shoulders slumped slightly, hear how ragged his breaths were.

“I know you can.  But I’ve always wanted to fight with you, Hak.  Just this once, let me.”

A new wave of soldiers rushed forward, cutting off his attempt at a reply.

They fought well together as a team.  There was no perfect synchronization, and a couple times stray limbs hit the other, but they managed to thoroughly keep the enemy off.  They were like a brewing storm, all wind and lightning and thunder.  A wild tempest.

Most of the warriors were focused on attacking Hak from either the side or front, areas he could handle with ease.  That left only a small handful of men for Yona to fend off.  Perhaps that was for the best, armed with a single sword there was no way she could take on many men at once.

Hak staggered back, bumping heavily into her.

_How odd._

Yona turned her head slightly, just enough to see a man pulling his sword from her companion. 

Hak retaliated, the soldier flying from the impact of his Hsu Quandao.  His blow may have been strong, but Yona could see his energy fizzling.  He clutched his stomach tightly where he’d been stabbed.

“Hak-”

He coughed up blood, small trails of ruby running down his face. 

_No, no, no._

He wiped them away roughly with the back of his hand.

“Zeno” Hak gasped, “take her away.”

Warm hands, seeming to materialize from nowhere, scooped her up.

“No, wait” she protested, “he can’t fight in that condition.  That was a serious injury.  He-he’ll die.”

Zeno only returned her words with an expression that made the dragon appear so much older than he truly was.  There were years of anguish etched into his skin, years of knowing things that must be done yet were unbearable to do.

“Kija, guard my flanks.  We don’t want the miss to get hurt.”

And then Zeno started running and even though she struggled with all of her might, Yona could not get loose.  Hak became lost in the sea of soldiers, swallowed up by swords and spears all pointed at him.

He was so pale.

“Sorry, miss,” Zeno called suddenly, hastily tossing Yona to the ground.

She let out a yelp and scrambled to her feet just in time to see Zeno get impaled by a long spear.  The blond gritted his teeth, grabbing onto the thick wooden pole and yanking it out.  He tossed it to his right hand, pointing the tip at his assailant.

_This has got to end.  The bloodshed has got to end._

“Go find him, miss” Zeno grunted, almost as if he had known the thoughts floating through her head.  “There is something the miss must do, right?”

“Yes.”

“I will accompany you then, princes,” Kija said.  “I will protect you.”

“No, you will stay here and help Zeno.  This is something I have to do alone.”

Kija tried to protest, but Yona shot him the most fiery of looks she could muster.  He took in a breath, nodding, though it was apparent he did not approve at all.

“Very well.”

 He didn’t like it one bit, and yet because of their mutual trust he respected her decision fully.  Yona felt her heart soften towards her dear friend.

“Thank you” she whispered, and she was off.

Yona did her best to avoid the thickets of soldiers, but hoping to move through a battlefield without any sort of confrontation was the wish of a dreamer.  More than once she had to stop in order to dispel a coming attack.

She saw Jae-Ha and Shin-Ah again, both at different locations, fighting with all their might.  Jae-Ha was once more taking care of a swarm of men while Shin-Ah was locked in a duel against General Guen-Tae.  Yona didn’t look closely enough to assess their wounds.  She didn’t want to know, not yet.  Not until she had defeated him.

_Where are you, Soo-Won?_

A flash of silver swooped into her view from the left and she jumped back just in time to miss the full weight of the blow.  She slapped the blade away with her own, hissing at the jagged cut that had been carved into her shoulder.

“Yona,” that all too familiar voice said.  But this wasn’t the voice of the man she had known.  No, this was the voice of a stranger.

“It didn’t have to be this way,” she cried, doing her best to keep her emotions in check.  It was nearly impossible; simply hearing him call her name had broken the dam.  All the numbness that had frozen her heart melted.  She was drowning, and the tears wouldn’t stop.

“I’m sorry.  There was no choice” Soo-Won murmured, and for a second she caught a glimpse of the boy she had grown up with.

The tremor in his resolve faded, and he lifted his sword, ready to strike again.

She couldn’t give him that chance.

Yona struck first, pressing him into a defensive position.  Soo-Won was both stronger and better studied in the art of sword fighting.  Yona knew her best strategy was to take command and hold the offensive role.

Soo-Won shoved back, the sound of screeching steel ringing through the air.  Yona gritted her teeth, doing her best to repel his strength.  Her mind was flying a mile a minute, trying to remember any trick that would help her.  

_You can do this, you have to.  Don’t think about who you’re pointing your blade towards.  Don’t think about what could have been._

Faces flashed before her eyes.  Zeno smiling through the pain.  The guilt on Kija’s face from having to kill another human.  Jae-ha and Shin-Ah trying their best to hide all emotions.  The life slowly flickering out of Hak’s eyes.

_I must put a stop to this._

Yona lunged forward, hoping to land a vital hit on Soo-Won.  It was a risky maneuver, even desperate.  Soo-Won dodged out of the way and her blade missed. 

Yona felt something tear through her stomach.

_I’m not down, not yet._

She pulled her sword back, shoving it forward as hard as she could.  This time she did not miss.

Soo-Won had made the mistake of assuming his blow had completely incapacitated her.  Now she could see that as he offered a small saturnine smile, falling to the ground.

The last part of her broke.

Then all the physical pain rushed to join the mental and her mind grew foggy and her legs weak.  Yona dropped to the ground, letting go of her weapon, her lifeline, in the process.

She didn’t care.

Everything was shifting to black and she could hear familiar voices calling to her.  Her father.  Hak.  Her mother. 

Finally, finally, she could rest.    

**Author's Note:**

> So this was meant to be a drabble and somehow grew into a monster. It was actually a request from my tumblr, and I thank the anon who sent the prompt for providing such an interesting idea. It was hard writing this, for many reasons, but I am satisfied with the finished product. I hope you enjoyed reading this piece, even if it was on the sad side.


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